Save Article

A Search for Bodies and a Serial Killer

By

Aaron Rutkoff

Apr 5, 2011 1:25 pm ET

Reuters

A Suffolk County police vehicle on Oak Beach road, near the location where three more sets of human remains were found on Monday.

A 24-year-old New Jersey woman went missing last year, eventually setting off a search that has now led to the gruesome discovery of eight dead bodies left in the brush off a stretch of beaches on Long Island. All of the corpses found are those of women — but Shannan Gilbert, the original missing woman, has not yet been found.

Of the eight bodies, four have been identified. Like Gilbert, they were also in their twenties and working as prostitutes. The four identified victims also advertised their services online, just like Gilbert did.

Police have said they believe the bodies hidden near the beach are the work of a single serial killer. If true, as the Journal’s Sean Gardiner reported, it would be the most deadly serial killer in the region since Joel Rifkin was caught in 1993. He is believed to be responsible for at least 17 murders.

Gardiner has been following the investigation since December. He visited the News Hub on Tuesday to recap all the developments in the case and take a look ahead at what to expect as the investigation proceeds. See the video after the jump.